Suspiria and Inferno are two of the most baroque and spellbinding pieces of art ever made. Dario Argento felt the time was right to finish his ‘Three Mothers’ trilogy with Mother of Tears, and the Italian Hitchcock made the decision to fly Adam to Rome to put down on paper what fans had been waiting a generation for. For budgetary reasons, the original draft was altered quite a bit and moviegoers were left with a flat and atrocious mess that was all violence.

After being schooled in the peaks and valleys of what the directing process can be, Adam decided it was time to make his own picture with the After Dark Horrorfest original, Autopsy. What would have happened if Dario Argento had directed Re-Animator? Autopsy answers that humdinger of a question as Adam takes ER and drops it smack dab in the middle of a J-Horror splat fest.

With remakes being en vogue, it was only a matter of time before Kevin Tenney’s 1988 classic, Night of the Demons, found its way to being retold for a new audience. Can Adam Gierasch side-step the sophomore jinx and make a rock ‘n’ roll hootenanny movie that he has dreamt about since he was a teenager?

Angela [Shannon Elizabeth] is throwing a killer party at the Broussard Mansion where years ago seven demons, who are too evil for the bowels of hell, were accidentally brought up from the depths by a seance conducted by a jilted lover. After being bit by the corpse of one of the hellspawn, a demonic plague takes over as a real life rave from the grave ruptures as a group of friends must do battle with a heterogeneous band of unholy succubus.

I hate to flog a dead horse, but horror in the 1980′s never tried to be anything that it was not as the flicks encapsulated a rebellious freedom. It is very difficult to bring back that free spirit and jubilant simplicity of Night of the Demons. Kevin Tenney’s original was trashy fun that used sex, nudity, and gore and mixed them with a small house party setting to create a Halloween classic.

The new Night of the Demons is running on pure adrenaline as the Tourette syndrome style of editing makes it very hard to make out the new demons as I had a difficult time putting them into focus and appreciating the new designs, which differ significantly from Steve Johnson’s make-up effects. What Gierasch does best is add a little more back story with a sepia toned opening that plays like a homage to the warlock chain-whipping prologue from Lucio Fulci’s The Beyond; another movie that was shot in Louisiana. The Italian flavor continues with the cobwebbed catacombs and skeleton remains that recall the cavernous ambiance of The Gates of Hell.

Fan boys rejoice as Linnea Quigley cameos long enough to duplicate her infamous butt shot, and Diora Baird takes on the lipstick scene as she pushes the cosmetic appliance into the nipple of one huge boob that, according to her Twitter account, is not hers, “What you see is just a prosthetic piece. That is obvious.”

Adam Gierasch’s Night of the Demons is a flawed affair that has its heart in the right place. It has a bombastic soundtrack that will have head bangers everywhere with a serious case of whiplash as they mosh to the sounds of a saucey carnival ride.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Killer Film visited the set nearly a year ago with interviews with Gierasch and stars Monica Keena and Edward Furlong. Look for those in our interviews tab. The films also stars Shannon Elizabeth, Tiffany Shepis, and Doira Baird. Also released are some new stills from DreadCentral:

Synopsis: Angela Feld is throwing the Halloween party to end all Halloween parties at the infamous Broussard Mansion in New Orleans, where dark events transpired almost a century ago. But when the packed party gets busted by the police, Angela and her friends Maddie, Lily, Suzanne, Colin, Dex and Jason are the only ones left behind. Soon Colin and Angela make a grisly discovery in the basement and inexplicable events start to take place. With the mansion gates mysteriously locked, the seven find themselves trapped for the night…and soon they’re fighting ancient demons for their very souls.

Source: Arrow in the Head

What attracted you to night of the demons?

Monica Keena: Honestly, Eddie Furlong.  I met Adam, who seemed pretty cool, and seemed like someone I’d really want to work with, then I heard Eddie was attached, and I thought it would be awesome to work with him. 

Edward Furlong: I gotta say Monica Keena.  I heard she was gonna be in it, and I saw Freddy vs Jason, and I was like, I don’t care what the movie is if she’s in it.  I’m in a movie with Monica Keena, now I gotta get Shakira and I’ll be a happy guy.

You should have tried to get it written in your contract somewhere, that Shakira had to be cast if they wanted to cast you.

Monica Keena:  If Shakira came along with me I’d be the happiest person in the world.  

How is working with Adam Gierasch?

Monica Keena:  It’s been really fun, I have no complaints except for all the blood all over me all the time.  I’m kinda used to it, but otherwise I’ve been having a really good time.  Everyone is really cool, its been really fun, it’s going to look great. I’ve seen some of the footage so far and it looks stylistically really cool.  All of us get along really well, so the relationships between the characters in the movie are tight, and that definitely comes across.  What I like, and think Adam is trying to shoot for is, um, having real people in a surreal situation, but acting as though it was natural and normal.  Which I find interesting because it’s not over the top or silly.

Edward Furlong:  Well maybe parts of it.

Monica Keena;  Well yeah, but you know it’s a horror movie.  But you know what I mean, like, I think that he’s really trying to do something unique.  

 Were you fans of the original?

Monica Keena:  I loved the original.  You know what’s so funny?  I watched it years ago, and I did not put the two together when I read this script.  Then I went back and watched it, and everyone was like that movie is like crazy, and the acting in this one isn’t going to be anything like that.  But, I think that movie is dope.  I think it’s so funny, and entertaining in its own way.  I really enjoyed the original, I’m definitely a fan.

Edward Furlong:  I never saw the original.  I never saw it, but I think that’s alright.  This is sorta like a brand new millennium style version of this thing, and I think it’s cool.  But in all seriousness I think Adam is doing a great job, and he’s got this really stylized kind of vision.  And for the budget, it’s impressive to see all these very long steady cam shots, and the cinematographer is doing this really ridiculously cool stuff.  And you mix our incredible talent in with that, and…

Monica Keena:  You mean ours?

Edward Furlong:  Yeah ours, but mostly mine.  You mix that in with a talented crew, beautiful women, and you’ve got a great movie.

Monica Keena:  Who’s the most beautiful?

Edward Furlong:  Um, well me if I was a chick, but I Monica Keena is the hottest.

Since your not a chick right?

Edward Furlong:  Yeah, since I’m not a chick.  Yeah, she is the hottest.  She’s pretty slammin isn’t she?

Yeah, she is.

Edward Furlong: Wouldn’t you just like fucking….I’m not gonna go there.

Both Eddie and Monica were a lot of fun, and really excited about the movie. Be on the lookout for more NOTD info here at Killer Film.